Ignignokt Should Super Size it for Boston

In a recent media stunt gone array, Boston officials detonated a suspicious package and temporarily closed the Charles River. Despite early media reports claiming some nefarious character, potentially a terrorist, planted bombs, Turner Broadcasting assumed responsibility for the guerrilla marketing ad campaign promoting their Adult Swim show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley stated, “It had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires.”

In a written apology, Senior Vice President Shirley Powell described the ads: “The ''packages'' in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger…They have been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.”

Despite the apology, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis called the campaign “unconscionable” in a post 9/11 era. “It's a foolish prank on the part of Turner Broadcasting,” he said. “In the environment nowadays ... we really have to look at the motivation of the company here and why this happened.” CNN

This begs the question, in a post 9/11 era, why did it take so long for the authorities to discover these suspicious and sinister packages? Boston, the only city that acted, needed between two and three weeks to discover them. If terrorists actually planted bombs across the greater Boston area, would they give the police several weeks to look for them before their detonation?

Second, despite the fact that these packages resembled improvised explosive devices, early in the day, police Lieutenant Salvatore Venturelli made it clear they were not bombs (Boston Globe). Why the need for such drastic actions and fear mongering? According to CNN:

The discovery of the light boards led state, local and federal authorities to
close the Boston University and Longfellow Bridges and block boat traffic from
the Charles River to Boston Harbor. In addition, the Pentagon said U.S. Northern
Command was monitoring the situation from its headquarters in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, but said none of its units were dispatched to assist.

It took almost 8 hours after first spotting the packages for authorities to hold a press conference to quell public fear. Terrorists no longer need to do anything to paralyze a city, the media can do it for them.

*Thank you Mr. Procknow for the title idea